1. 1/10/2015 Rutgers University helps food vendors keep up with latest trends — NewsWorks
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OCTOBER 3, 2012
Rutgers University helps food vendors keep up
with latest trends
1 / 2
Food Innovation Center's shared processing area is used to create new products. (Tara Nurin/for NewsWorks)
BY TARA NURIN FOR NEWSWORKS
(http://www.newsworks.org)

2. 1/10/2015 Rutgers University helps food vendors keep up with latest trends — NewsWorks
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Among foodie-friendly Philadelphians, the term "farm-to-table" tends to evoke thoughts of
chef-driven restaurants rather than jars of ketchup. But in Bridgeton, N.J., a Cumberland
County hub surrounded by land that keeps the "garden" in "Garden State," a group of
scientists and food-industry veterans are shaping the multi-faceted locavore and artisanal-
food movements in a way that often gets overlooked by restaurant-centric urbanites.
Working on behalf of the Rutgers Food Innovation Center (FIC(http://www.foodinnovation.rutgers.edu/)), an
arm of the university's Agriculture Experiment Station, veterans from the food and beverage
industries, as well as a broad base of Rutgers professors,have been steering both budding
entrepreneurs and multi-national companies along their journeys to bring specialty food
products to the retail marketplace since 2001.
Though the incubator program – duplicated in only a few locations nationwide -- was initially
founded to help New Jersey farmers turn their harvest into produce-based items like jam and
salsa, FIC consultants are more recently compelled to respond to significant philosophical
shifts in their clients' goals. More than ever, they're coaching novices -- retirees, homemakers
and young professionals -- looking to introduce high-quality, pro-wellness, locally sourced
shelf products that meet the clients' own nuanced dietary requirements and represent their
own community-oriented values.
Consumer demand
"Organic is still pretty strong but natural is what our clients really talk about," says director
Michael DuBois, who adds that clients are striving to infuse the idea of "wholesomeness" into
their products. "No hormones in food, no unnatural ingredients ... whole grain or fiber in food,
no tropical oils. We get a lot of clients coming in with gluten-free, vegan and veggie foods."
"There's a high demand for natural, high-quality products," agrees Patrick Leger, a Princeton-
area organic farmer and co-owner of First Field, which makes ketchup and relish that are sold
at Whole Foods in the Philadelphia-region. "Ten years ago I don't think we could have created
this company."
He's probably right. According to Specialty Food Magazine (SFM), sales of specialty foods have
"rocketed" by nearly 20 percent over the last three years, with approximately 4,500 such foods
and beverages being introduced in the U.S. over that time period. Two years ago, Leger and
his wife/business partner, Theresa Viggiano, were "just growing tomatoes." Leger says FIC
helped him scale his recipes to maintain taste and consistency as he made larger quantities of ketchup.

3. 1/10/2015 Rutgers University helps food vendors keep up with latest trends — NewsWorks
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Their First Field company sources all of its produce in-state. And that factor -- more than any
other health or quality issue -- drives demand from the American specialty-foods consumer
and enhances the FIC's ability to boost profit margins for New Jersey farmers.
SFM reports that three-quarters of retailers rate "local" as the most influential product claim in
this niche industry, followed by "organic" and "all-natural" then trailed by "sustainable," "eco-
friendly" and "fair trade." In New Jersey, this interest translates to the growth in the number of
farmers markets: 40 in 2000 to 140 now.
Exotic goes local
But there are more than local considerations involved in the locavore movement, which,
thanks to a burgeoning acceptance for exotic foreign flavors, even welcomes the consumption
of cuisines developed abroad, particularly if their ingredients are locally cultivated.
Jatin Patel is one FIC client who can deliver on this. Because the former Saladworks franchisee
was tired of eating what he describes as commercialized Indian-style simmer sauces. Patel
says those amounted to canned tomatoes drowning in water. Last year he introduced Beyond
the Spice sauces, which he makes with mostly fresh and local vegetables and fruits, along with
spices that he grinds by hand before each batch. Because he doesn't use chemicals, stabilizers
or artificial preservatives, it took him and FIC staff seven months (and six different brands of
coconut milk!) to perfect his recipes. The effort has paid off with his recent inclusion in the
rotation at three suburban Philadelphia Whole Foods locations and a display at the nationally
lauded, impossible-to-get-a-reservation Talula's Table in Kennett Square.
"My goal is to be the number one Indian gourmet simmer sauce producer in the tri-state area
within three-to-four years," he says. "I cannot imagine how I would do it without the help of the
FIC."
In order for Patel to expand his distribution into the specialty retailer realm, it's not enough for
him to produce all-natural, high-quality foods. He must also consider the environmental
impact of his packaging and production methods. As such, the FIC team develops the simplest
packaging possible to maintain the safety and integrity of the product. They also respect that
modern food entrepreneurs may choose to use less-than-modern methods in order to be,
well, modern.
Ethical consumerism

4. 1/10/2015 Rutgers University helps food vendors keep up with latest trends — NewsWorks
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"The marketplace has such an enormous appetite for products that are driven by values, and
for us that means going back to how it was done in old times," says First Fields' Leger, who
grew up, like many of his fellow Quebecois, making their own versions of dish-specific
ketchups.
Bridgeton thrived in the 19th and early 20th centuries as a center for ketchup production but
larger operations later made it hard for the smaller manufacturers to compete. This helps
Leger weave a narrative that connects his company with the past in a way that resonates with
community-conscious consumers.
"For many, many years the dynamic broke down for the idea of farmers making value-added
products and taking that to the market," he laments.
Leger's story grows more poignant – and more profitable – when coupled with the fact that
Rutgers very purposefully invested in Cumberland County, which despite raising more
vegetables, melons and potatoes than any other county in New Jersey, struggles with the
state's lowest per capita income.
By supporting First Field, and in turn the FIC, buyers are helping Jersey workers, businesses
and farmers. So, as long as consumers continue place a high value on buying local foods, New
Jersey could see more specialty-food businesses emerge.
SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Rutgers University Food Innovation Center
Comments
# Rutgers University helps food vendors keep up with latest trends —

5. 1/10/2015 Rutgers University helps food vendors keep up with latest trends — NewsWorks
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